A collection of interesting bits and pieces from around the world of travel and beyond…

Hotel built in former quarry opens in China

After a decade of construction, the mostly subterranean InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland has opened inside a formerly abandoned quarry about 20 miles southwest of Shanghai.

Yes, you read that correctly — subterranean. While the idea of a semi-underwater hotel isn’t novel — the recent underwater suite at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island being a notable example — InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is a new concept.

Built into the side of a quarry in the Sheshan Mountain Range, the hotel has 336 rooms on 18 floors. Sixteen of the floors are underground, with the lowest two submerged inside a 33-foot-deep aquarium.

Richard Branson’s new high-speed trains will let you visit Disney World and Miami in the same vacation

Brightline launched in January 2018 as the first privately funded, multi-city passenger railroad to debut in America in over a century. Brightline’s ultra-modern high-speed trains — reminiscent of something you’d see in Japan — currently serve South Florida, with stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.

Already in the works are plans to expand the route to Orlando and Tampa in the coming years, and Brightline also recently announced its intention to acquire XpressWest and construct a railway between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.

In a newly established partnership with Richard Branson, Brightline will leverage the expertise of the billionaire’s Virgin Group conglomerate and reintroduce itself as Virgin Trains USA. The rename will be official this month, with the transition to Virgin Trains USA branding set for 2019.